Chapter 35

It was morning, and I was standing in a public park in my civilian clothes, waiting for Nejire. Next to me was Eri, a 4–5-year-old child now with new clothes and a hat that covered her head. The last thing I wanted was for Kai's people to find her randomly in a park. But since Night Eye had already seen the future of Eri, I didn't think that something bad would happen.

Nejire had been working at an agency on the other side of the city, yet we hadn't met because we were both busy. When I asked her out today, she said she would ask her mentor if she could take a day off.

I smiled when I saw a blue-haired girl walking in a light blue dress toward us. She smiled and waved her hand at me, running. I held back my urge to grab her cheeks as she stopped in front of me.

"It's been quite a while," she said.

"It hasn't been a week," I replied.

"Your sense of time is messed up. Didn't you miss me?" she asked.

I smiled. "Maybe. You?"

"You tell." Instead of answering with words, she opened her arms and hugged me, placing her head on my shoulder.

I patted her on the back, chanting some verses in my head to stop the biological reaction from rising as her chest crushed against mine. But it failed, and the spear rose.

Nejire pulled back and smiled, her cheeks turning a bit red.

That was one hell of a strong hug.

She looked at the girl who was hugging my leg.

"Who is she?" Nejire asked as she let her face closer to her.

"This is Eri," I said. "Night Eye tasked me to babysit her."

"Do you babysit during the internship?" Nejire asked, "we didn't study that in our hero course."

"She had been rescued from the mobs," I replied. "I'm with her until someone takes her."

The little girl opened her mouth. "Will you come with me when they take me?"

I patted her on the head, saying, "Big brother has a job. But as soon as I finish it, I'll visit you."

She smiled widely.

When I turned to Nejire, I found her staring at me with stars in her eyes.

"You both look cute," she said. I had expected her to ask questions about the girl or make some comments on how she was rescued. After all, Nejire had annoyed some girls in our class by making comments on their quirks, causing them to stay away from her. But she didn't on Eri. She seemed to be considerate enough now.

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked her.

"Let's ask Eri first," Nejire said as she squatted next to me and lifted Eri. It seemed to be a good idea to bring her along.

"Let's play some games," Eri said.

We then started walking, silently.

"I don't think we ever had a calm date like that," Nejire commented.

"Really?"

"Most times we're working out together. Other than that, it's rare. The first time we went to train together, it was attacked by the giant villain," she said. "And you started that speech with him."

I giggled, remembering how I was negotiating with the villain and talking sense to him. When he had calmed down, Mt Lady had taken him down, causing public damage and getting forgiven because she looked hot.

"Yes, I remember," I replied.

"You two are dating?" Eri asked.

Nejire nodded at her with a smile.

"So that's what married people do. You two married?" she asked innocently. I didn't find it appropriate to educate a little girl at her age about relationships.

"No. We play a lot. That's it," I said.

"What games?" she asked.

"We're discovering," I replied, only for Nejire to give me a small fist on my shoulder, her cheeks turning a bit red. It was fun to see her acting like this.

"Here." Nejire placed Eri on the ground when we reached the kids' playing zone. Eri ran.

I wrapped my arm around Nejire's shoulder.

"You know, it's a crime if you are not careful with your words," Nejire said.

"Do I deserve a punishment then?" I replied with an amused tone.

"Bad boys need to get punished." She said, holding my chin. And my imagination went wild. By that, I didn't imagine spending time in jail. More like Nejire wearing a latex outfit and acting like Midnight. Being a cultivator makes one's imagination almost real.

A fluffy kiss awakened me from my imagination. Nejire was done with the kiss and stopped standing on her toes.

"Wanna grab a coffee?" I asked.

"Mm…" she nodded.

Then we bought coffee and sat next to each other, catching up and spending time like old days before the internship. The time went smoothly, and Eri kept playing around while we were watching.

After a few hours, I got a letter on my phone. [Bring Eri and come back to my office] it was Night Eye.

"So, it's time to get her back," said Nejire as her head appeared between mine and the phone. When she made eye contact with me, she made a broad smile.

I patted her hair a bit before saying, "Yeah. Guess his friend is here." I turned to Eri and asked her to come. The young girl then came running toward me. Lifting her above my shoulder, I turned to Nejire and said, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"It's my day off. I guess I'll follow you and see how you work," she said.

"Okay," I didn't mind. Night Eye had seen the future and he didn't say something like not to bring Nejire with me.

-x-X-x-

I entered Night Eye's office with Nejire and Eri on my shoulder. In front of me was Night Eye and a middle-aged man with long black hair, black sleepy eyes, and black attire. A long bandage covered his neck area like a scarf. If I wasn't wrong, this was Aizawa.

"Welcome Nejire Hado. I have already informed your mentor that you are with me," Night Eye said.

"Woah." She exclaimed, "You've foreseen this already."

He chuckled. "Why don't you and Kenshiro sit down, while I and Mr. Aizawa talk with Eri."

I placed Eri on the back and gave her a small push.

"So, this is the girl you want me to take care of," Aizawa said as he looked at Eri.

"Only with your quirk, you can help her," Night Eye said. That was true. Aizawa's quirk could disable anyone's, so that's why he was suitable for training kids with dangerous quirks since he could control them and prevent them from harming themselves and others.

"True," he said, "I've already had my fair share of experience dealing with kids with troublesome quirks." He said as he slightly smiled at Eri. "Kid, from now on, you call me uncle."

She nodded slightly.

"But don't forget," Night Eye said, "we need her testimony about Kai before she leaves."

"I don't want to leave," said Eri, eyes getting cloudy with tears. "I want to stay with big brother and sister."

I turned my head to Nejire, seeing that she too had tears accumulating in her eyes.

"Don't worry Eri. I'll visit you sometime," Nejire said.

"Don't worry," said Aizawa to Eri. "I'm a teacher in their school. You'll see them plenty."

"Wait. You're a teacher at UA, Mr. Aizawa," asked Nejire. "I've never seen you around."

"That's because I'm the homeroom teacher of 3A," he replied.

"Oh, I see," she replied.

Eri nodded, clenched her fists, and smiled. "So going with you means I'll be able to play with them. Yay."

Aizawa nodded.

"Guys, it's not time to celebrate yet," said Night Eye as he lifted his head. "Kenshiro. You can deal with this."

I tilted my head, confused about what he meant.

"Everyone, take a step back," said Night Eye, ignoring my curiosity.

Something broke the window. A green grenade was flying in front of my eyes. Because of the improved reflexes I had, I could clearly see it. My heart almost stopped.

A grenade! Really?

-x-X-x-

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